Painkiller faces ban

A popular painkilling drug is to be withdrawn because of its frequent use in suicides and accidental overdoses.

New evidence has shown that coproxamol can be lethal if patients exceed the maximum recommended dosage by as little as two tablets.

The medication, particularly dangerous when taken with alcohol, is also used in five per cent of all suicides.

Up to 400 deaths a year are linked to accidental or intentional overdoses of the drug, which is normally taken for mild to moderate pain and is similar to paracetamol.

David Kelly, the government weapons adviser, is believed to have taken up to three packets of coproxamol shortly before his death in 2003. Last year eight million prescriptions were issued in the UK.